When there are so many schools to choose from, why would anyone in their right mind choose to back away from all that and keep their kids at home? Well, I am one of those out-of-the box creative people. I have been homeschooling for 20 years (and counting). I've seen a lot, learned a lot and had amazing experiences along the way with my children. Each child is an individual with a unique way of learning and view of the world. Homeschooling celebrates that and works individually allowing each person to express their unique gifts and true self.
So I raise them as I feel is true to our family, true to our values and give them the education I believe they should have. At school, the subjects dumb down the intuition, the creativity and the freedom to be individuals. Children who have been raised by the school system since they were very young have almost no basic skills and no social skills which would allow them to interact with many different age groups and different kinds of people in different kinds of settings and situations. Home Ec is nonexistent in school. And so these kids grow up to be not fully formed intellectually , socially or emotionally.
Learning at home has the exact opposite results. Instead of restricting learning to grammar and copying words from a projector, Learning takes place organically. It is a well rounded education so that by the time they are 10, they have amassed skills, tools, self confidence, talents and independence, all in a safe environment where they are encouraged to explore and understand their world and themselves.
This is what a typical year might look like learning at home, although it varies from day to day.: Kids learn to cook, sew, ferment and preserve , bake, fix things, make things, use tools (including, but not limited to responsible use of knives and saws etc), garden, harvest, be kind, learn patience, play fair, use strategy, math, languages, reading, enjoy freedom, trust and use their intuition, know themselves, work out traumas, heal, learn home remedies, learn to use the internet and modern day technology, fix an engine, change a tire, find solutions, learn history, responsibility , to clean, have chores, debate, develop social skills, take part in real life everyday errands: p.o., bank, grocery shopping, how to stand quietly in line, how to respect others, budgeting, use money, help with what needs to be done, pull their own weight, volunteer, prepare and make healthy meals, find their true strengths, talents and skills, face challenges in a safe place, learn bad from good, survival skills , independence, self confidence, discern between fact and opinion, research, leadership, make genuine friendships with people of all ages and stages in life, how to give respect, how to be humble, how to take care of little children or sick family members, and more. This list goes on.
Now in this day and age of "corona", there are even more reasons to partake in the real life journey we call homeschool. Schools have become obsessed with masks, tests and jabs, they are blindly following government guidelines without ever considering the effect (neither short nor long term) it's having on children: their development, their mental state, or their relation and connection of self to others , to their heritage or to their future.
This is why more and more families are choosing to homeschool , both here in Israel and in other parts of the world. Our children are the world's future. We are taking responsibility in raising responsible ,caring , capable adults that will bring the future to the next best level.
This is my goal on a larger scale as well. I have opened a Folk School after school activity on our property to give children (and their adults) the chance to engage, learn new or forgotten skills, express them- selves creatively and develop self confidence. I am hoping through community we will embed a new sense of direction and independence in the next generations . We need to learn to work together and to see each other as individuals with great collective power. This is our future. This is where I hope to have impact : to lead by example and to inspire others to be the very best they can be.
